The following description relates to a graphical user interface (GUI) for accessing information. The information can include documents or other data objects such as a file, an image, a graphic, or portion thereof, or any other collection or format of information that can be electronically stored in a storage medium. Stored information can be accessed and retrieved from storage by a user through an interface. A computing system commonly employs a GUI for information access. In the GUI, representations of discrete parts of information are presented to a user in at least one type of arrangement that defines a relationship among a group of data objects. Typically, such information is represented as a graphic or text.
Graphical representations of information arrangements in a GUI are typically standardized in a computing system. For instance, application programs that are compatible with the Microsoft Windows™ operating system display a group of information as a collection of large icons or small icons, or as a list, and may include details or a thumbnail representation. Folders, documents, pictures, files, etc., can each have their own unique identifying icon. Further, icons can be arranged and displayed according to name, type, size, or date, etc. Alternatively, Web-based applications that are accessible from a web page or portal can display a variety representations of information as a hyperlink defined according to a markup language. Common representations include underlined blue text, an icon or other graphic.
Regardless how the information arrangements are displayed, a user is usually presented with only one arrangement at a time. If two or more arrangements are presented, the user can usually only navigate one arrangement at a time. As one data object may be associated with more than one arrangement, and as several storage arrangements can overlap, conventional access and retrieval systems are limited in their capability to display multiple arrangements of data objects for quick access. However, if more than two arrangements are presented in a GUI, the navigation of information represented thereby is difficult, and searching a graphical depiction thereof tends to be very difficult.